Killing Me Softly

VENICE, ITALY.

The arrow shot through the air with a high velocity, piercing not only through his clenched hands but grazing the side of his face as well. Zepestine dodged it, breaking it over his legs and letting the shreds fall to the ground between them both.

The woman lowered her bow, elevating her green eyes to match his as he inched closer. The italian winds drew in the scent of the pasta that cooked in the building behind them, a stoned Venice resident facing the lake. It's late October, and the sound of his feet against the dry dehiscent leaves are crusty, and Zepestine ran his frail hands through his disconnecting grey beards.

Eva stepped away as he cornered her, heated breathes against her neck whilst muttering something in Italian. She stepped back into him, allowing the coarse surface of his palms envelope her moist skin and he held up the bow to the tree.

"Eva. You were trained for this." He muttered. "One wrong move and you'd be dead by the hands of him. You must know-" He paused, letting his hands to fall to her waist which he slowly arched. He placed his chin upon her shoulders, directing her where she was to take another shot.

"You must know how to kill a wolf" He whispered.

"This is no ordinary arrow, Eva. This is Vanadium" He added, as she slipped her face into the scarf around her nose. The clothes fell across her shoulders, leaving only her eyes unmasked. "Coated with Amanita phalloides, once you take a step back" He drew her close, allowing her take a lungful of air. "You shot out everything around you and keep your eyes just on one thing" His words were slow. "Your prey"

"You must remember, stance, nock, hand placements, anchor, aim-" His thumb hooked the string, allowing him to draw the arrow back. Her index finger grazed the tip of her jaw before he let go.

"Release."

And this time, it pierced through the rock before them, scaring off the pigeons that dared come close. They fluttered their wings, soaring lowly above them and Zepestine backed away. The bow anchored to the grounds as Eva pulled out a cigarette, lighting it between her lips.

"What happened to you, Daniels?"

"Seems like you've lost your touch" She took a puff off the smoke, slowly dissipating it through her lips and Zepestine reached for the snout. "I just got a bunch of things on my mind" She cleared her throat, setting her eyes on the waters before them.

"You better clear your head before your next target"

"One mistake can cost you your life." He gritted through his teeth, crushing the cigarette with the sole of his feet and Eva Daniels chuckled lightly. "Another target?" She echoed and Zep croaked. "There is no job besides this"

"But i have a life" She faked a thick Russian accent and he laughed ridiculously at how naive that thought was. "There is no life outside this" His voice went low, maintaining a stoic gaze with her and Eva cleared his throat.

"Outside the One."

"I'm serious Eva, pull your head back in the game. Our next series of targets are going to require all that you've got" Zepestine said before pulling away. And her eyes darted the bow and the one single arrow that was still on the ground. With a quick reflex, she hefted it in her hands, aiming for his back.

And within a split second, she shot at him.

The arrow froze in the air, and a smirk crept to her lips. Casually, he applauded her, turning around. And he nodded, controlling with his eyes the arrow and it fell between them.

"Who's next?" Eva emotionlessly muttered and he cleared his throat. "I'll tell you over dinner" He looked pointedly to the house and she heaved a deep breath. Zepestine pulled away, leaving her in the center of the woods. Her gaze falls on the silk curtains bristling in the winds and she goes up the hill, trailing behind him.

"Hold up."

-

The stack of documents fell to the table.

It usually was like this, a profile parceled in a postcard envelope with a name and a photo attached to it. Zepestine tossed it over to Eva who gorged the last strand of pasta on the plate before her before pulling out the paper.

"Aiden Keller" She called the name across it and he nodded.

Zepestine was not only a father figure, he was a guardian sent from wherever these postcards came from. The One, they call themselves, and all Eva knew about them was only what he wanted her to know. But growing up, she just didn't care because what she knows won't be able to hurt her.

And after each mission was a wad of cash waiting on her bed, enough papers to seal her lips, and keep her roped. It's been that way for years, even for the next coming years. Her eyes went dark as she looked back at him. "How do you want it done?" She asked and Zepestine smirked coldly.

"Clean."

"Fast, smooth. And faultless, possibly painless. It's your call to make Eva" She looked back at the paper before her. "Before tomorrow." He added and she let her hair fall upon her shoulders. "Before tonight." There was a crack in her voice as she brushed past his shoulders, walking out of the cabin doors.

ROME, ITALY.

Darkness had fallen over the mansion, but the crystal lights illuminated the streets. Eva pulled he sweater over her head as she knocked on the front door. She held the same envelope that told her to kill him, as if she were a postman and that was the first guess of the gateman that opened the door.

The hoodie shielded half her face so he couldn't get a good look. Instead, she just hefted it in his face and when he came close, she hooked her arm around his neck, smashing his jaw into the concrete pavements beside her. There was low groan as he stiffened on the spot and Eva made her way into the compound, closing the gates beside her. Before heading in, she saw the one room that still had its lights on and heaved a deep breath through her lips.

The sound of howling dogs filled her ears as she grasped her pockets for the knife she had. Quietly, she crept through the front doors, making her way past the maidens and eventually the butler, until she stood in that very room with the lights on.

Brushing it slightly open, Eva let her hoodie down as she walked in. And by the corner of the room was a man admiring himself in the mirror. Her brows arched in disgust, her nose picking up his egoistic scent as she inched closer. Perhaps it was when he'd felt her presence that he suddenly jolted-

-turning around with a halfly parted hair and his hands against his drawers. He gasped, pulling out a Gerber knife with a six inch blade. as if knowing who she was and expecting her.

Eva looked down to her barely feasible weapon before tossing it to the ground, now unarmed. The man she assumed was Aiden by his picture first swung at her, close enough that she felt the breeze of its passing. However when he'd missed, she saw a perfect opportunity for a headlock. Aiden was much stronger than she was, and well skilled with the weapon in his hands. They fell to the cold wooden floor and he pulled her blonde hair with nails like that of a wolf.

That especially, angered Eva. She caught a glimpse of his eye slither in the dark and she hit him with her elbows, maneuvering her way on top of him. A slap wasn't enough to restrain him as he swung at her again and this time, she clasped his arm, ducking under it and ramming into his ribs.

Aiden groaned, forcibly admitting to her strength. He was more of everything, an advantage but she had the will. She had the power and just as she was held him to the ground, she racked her head of how to put him to an end. However, with the last strength, he pushed her away from him, trailing over her. But alas her hands grasped the knife she'd thrown to the floor as quickly as she could and she stabbed him in his chest.

He fell on top of her, his weapon grazing past her face and pinning to the ground. Her knife went through, blood suddenly oozing next to her and she got up to her feet, tossing him over with the weapon sprouting from his chest. His eyes went limp, as life departed from them but he wasn't dead.

His muscles still spasmed, he still breathed. She hated when men like him breathed the same air as she did. And for ripping a piece of her hair from her scalp, Eva craved revenge. In that moment, revenge meant using his Gerber knife to slice off his head. His blood splattered in her face as his head detached from his body and rolled towards the door. It wasn't long till it pulled away and a maid walked in, timely enough to catch a smile of Eva's face and her boss's head next to her feet. She let go of the tray in her hands, before fainting to the ground-

-shards of glasses breaking unto the ground. Eva looked up at the mess, knowing one thing, this was was the opposite of what Zepestine wanted-clean, faultless. This was a disaster, but she had gotten the work done. So climbing over him, she dropped the weapon on the wooden counter, next to his comb.

And by the looks of it, there was suit hanging on his closet-perhaps a date he'd never attend now. Slipping the postcard with a check into her pockets, Eva walked out the same doors she walked in and made her way out the same gates, watching the gateman still struggle for his last breath. She entered the black SUV that waited by the roads for her but before pulling, she looked back at the house, recollecting the memorable encounter with Aiden Killer, her forty-eighth kill. It was then he looked at her from the passenger's seat-Zepestine.

And his eyes went down on her blood stained dress and messy face. He pouted slightly and she chuckled. "What did you do?" He asked, fed up with her disobedience and she shrugged her shoulders. "I got the job done" She replied him.

"I took care of it."

MILAN, ITALY.

The red ropes linked each image on the board, each piece of evidence connecting the murders of the past few months, and a uniformed man stood at the front, a cup of coffee in his hands.

Matthew inched closer, pinning the last one on A Frank Gallagher, a real estate merchant that was murdered in Florence last week, his limbs severed like the previous victim, Gerald. He arched his brows, noticing a connection in these killings, one he couldn't quite put a finger on. It was then his door opened to his partner and David held up a file in the air.

Matthew looked around to see a man photographed across the floor in a pool of his ow blood-headless. His police stereo went static as David parted his lips. "Aiden Keller, our latest victim" He brushed past his shoulders to pin him against the wall as well.

"Found dead in his home, not a robbery like we thought because not a single of his Cartier watches stolen, nor any expensive items" He said. "Then what are we looking at?" Matthew's patience grew thin as they locked eyes. "Florence, Rome and Venice. Lake Como, all holding our crime scenes. I don't think we're just looking at one person here" David shrugged his arms.

"An agency?"

"A league." David muttered. "A league of highly skilled assassins" He added and Matthew walked by his side. "Then we need to find something linking all of our victims, asides wealth and stature. And politics, we need a motive" He pulled out his phone but before David walked through the door, he halted.

"And soon. Before our next murder." His voice went low as he dialed an unknown number. It rang about twice before it picked and there was a silence on the other end. "I want to speak to Tobias" He said with intention rooted in his voice. "Tell him it's Matthew." There was a long pause before a husky voice filled the phone and he sat into his chair.

"Tobias."

"Any development?" The voice asked and Matt looked at the decapacited man on the photo before him. "There's been another murder" He slipped his hands into his pockets and the man assumed to be Tobias heaved a deep breath.

"What do you think?" He asked. "Another werewolf?"

He paused, matching with his fingers. He threw his head over his shoulders to check if David was around. "I think so. A beta" He saw the mark on his wrists before the line barred and Matt tossed the phone to the desk, running his hands through his wet hair.

"Fuck." He cussed.

VENICE, ITALY.

The smell of italian notes filled her nose as Eva ran her hands through the bag of cash sitted on her head. She looked to Vespertin by her door and a smirk invaded her lips.

"I'm going shopping tomorrow" She said flatly, in her fake accent again and he drew close with a postcard in his hands. She rolled her eyes as he threw it to her, and her eyes went to it. "Another mission?" She filled her nose with air.

"One that would take everything you've got" He whispered. "I think you're ready. And only if you know the real reason we do the things that we do, only then will you realize it's essence"

"Werewolves" She whispered. "They're dangerous."

"It's more than just the danger. This one-" He pointed to the photo of the man of the card. "This one, will hit closer to home" Her eyes narrowed at his name before her lips echoed it.

"Tobias Blake."

Zepestine sat right next to her, reaching out for her cold palms and they locked eyes. "He's the Alpha of Dark Ravens pack, the last that needs to be executed. It's going to be a lot, and it's going to take a lot of practice and dedication, Eva Daniels" He squeezed her palms. "But i know you'd be able to do it" The winds ran through her hair, swaying them side to side above her shoulders.

"How do you want him dead?" Her eyes grew thin, cold and Zepestine chuckled loudly and incessantly. "I want his head. Bring me his head, Daniels" They shared a moment, inching their foreheads closer till they grazed each other. And like a daughter, he placed his chapped lips to her head.

"Kill Tobias Blake."

To be continued...

Eva walked into the banqueting hall, the mixture of jazz and hip-hop blending through her ears. There was a congregation across the floor, gliding their hips to Giveon. And she pulled her glasses to the bridge of her nose, scanning the crowds for the man on the post card- Berlin Santos.

She pulled away, letting the door close behind as she made her way into the elevator. Placing her hands in her chic Louis Vuitton pantsuit, she leaned back, only for a hand to stop the doors from closing and in came a woman with a baby in her arms.

Eva's eyes trailed every bit of the lavender silk coat around her head and she struck eyes with the barely one year old, making the most hilarious faces at him until he started crying. She chuckled slightly, only drawing the attention of the mother whose gaze assessed her from head to toe before pulling away.

They were on opposite sides of the elevator, where glances were stolen and feet were being tapped nervously against the grounds. The light turned red before them as the door sealed close and it was then Eva casually pulled a gun from her pockets-

-it was no ordinary gun, but one whose silver bullets were coated with bane, a fungus that could only kill a species, the werewolves. And the woman gasped as Eva drew closer to her child. The gun scraped her chin as halted breathes escaped from her lips. "Relax" Her soft hands pulled against the baby's coat.

"Please don't hurt my baby" There was a crack in her voice and the confined space forced her voice to echo back. "You can kill me but please, i beg you in the name of God not to hurt my baby-" Her voice was whiny and desperate. And Eva took pity, seeing how glassy her eyes had gotten, not that she had a bad intention in the first place. So when the elevator lights turned green, she retracted her hands, slipping the gun back into her grey pants.

"God." She echoed, a bit of doubt in her tone and with a scoff, she added. "It was never for you" Eva pulled away, her sinful red pumps clacking against the marble tiles. She drew far enough before tossing her head over her shoulders and the woman was breathless in the elevator, clutching her fragile heart. And before it closed, their eyes locked for one compelling pause.

And she waved.

Eva had the bloody audacity to wave at a woman who she'd just held a gun to. It was only something she could do-something so utterly bizarre and spontaneous. It was why she was also very good at what she did, and with that last thought, her eyes fell back to the door before her. Unreluctantly, she kicked it open.

And the smell of weed puffed in her face. Immediately, the chattering halted and once she walked through the mist, she was met with about ten pairs of eyes. At first glance the five men sitting around the table look ordinary enough. Successful, judging from their quietly expensive clothes. Most are in their late fifties or early sixties, with the kind of faces that you instantly forget.

And within a split second, her eyes matched the target who immediately raised his arms to surrender. There was a pot from which he smoked from and you could tell from his reddened eyes. Eva had no intention to get high from weed that wasn't hers, so she pulled out the gun again and aiming for his brains, she squinted the trigger of the pistol. A loud bang filled the room as his blood splattered to the poker table.

His knees knocked him forward, to the audience of his peers who watched. They weren't the most surprised but they were at least gazed especially at a female assassin who dared to kill in broad daylight and unmasked as well. Eva slipped over him, dropping a pink ribbon by the side of his neck and forcing his eyes closed.

Blood drew closer to her feet as she walked away, humming a song by the band, Unloved. Finding herself back in the corridors, Eva was able to let the music sink into her soul. There was something about music that made her both her strongest and the most vulnerable. She was headed back to the same elevator whilst unbuttoning her jackets and once she entered, an emergency alarm blared on the floor she was. She heard the approaching footsteps of police whose gaze immediately fell on her. She was unmoved, letting a smirk invade her lips and again, she waved-

-just as the steel doors closed between them.

-

"It's a woman"

What seemed to a chamber lit up with a single candlelight, one that Tobias controlled with his gaze. He was seated upon a heavy metal throne, in a room filled with barely any people.

Edgar drew close with a cassette in his hands and Tobias leaned forward. He slipped it into the tape that was connected by a wire to the television before them and a grainy surveillance of the previous night played across it. "I was able to get my hands on footage from the night of the Keller murder and asides a witness the police already have, we have this" He stretched the remote, pausing the video on the tv.

"From this angle, we can see the murderer in a hoodie and telling by her gaze which is quite effeminate, it's normal that gender be your first guess. But here-" He zoomed in the moment she pulled off her hoodie, letting her hair fall across her shoulders. Tobias sat up-he could see her eyes and his glinted with intrigue. "A woman?" He echoed back his words.

"That was my very first reaction. But with the way these killings are carried out with such level of expertise, i'm beyond doubt that we're not just dealing with an ordinary killer here" Edgar said, a friend to both Matthew and Tobias. The port vomited out the cassette and he grasped it in his hands.

"I think we're dealing with a female assassin"

"The very first i've seen" Tobias' voice went low. "Someone whose only targeting our people. There's intent" Edgar added and their eyes met. His fingers grazed against the wooden table before him, marking lines with his sharp claws. "She works for someone, barely any woman is that bright. And she cannot carry out all of these herself. Find me that person" He whispered. "And they'll lead us closer to her."

"She managed to eliminate the Yound Pack-Aiden, which could mean there's only little time till she comes for us. We must kill her." He fiercely continued. "We must kill her before she lays a finger on one hair on our head." Tobias completed, only to receive a nod of approval from Edgar.

"Then you must find me that woman."

To be continued...

Eva takes a mouthful sip of her strawberry smoothie, letting the sweetness numb her tastebuds with a low moan. It was beyond an orgasm for her, but how could she know, she had never really quite had one her entire life.

She'd stopped by a L'Oreal store by the side of the roads, changing into a pair of brown suede boots that didn't quite match her pants. But bold fashion choices and creative kills were what made Eva Daniels. Have emptied, she tossed the cup into the trash, allowing her skin sulk up the much needed Italian breeze after a bloodily long morning, perhaps literally.

It was then her gaze fell on someone, recognizing her from earlier. Eva let out a soft chuckle as she ran her frail fingers through her hair. Her jacket was lose, but the collars held tight to her neck that barely any skin was exposed. She made her way across the interlocked roads, carefully going between the cars like she had about nine lives.

Maybe she did, because of how often she joked of her invincibility. She reached the bus-stop, above which was a blue shed over the wooden bench. She could hear the husky cries of a baby from a distance and she inched closer, harmlessly.

It was the mother she'd met in the elevator and once their eyes met again, the woman was quick to stand, detaching her rock hard nipples from the baby's succulent lips. Eva reached out with her hands as blood filled her face. "I won't hurt you" The woman halted as if unwilling to take any chances until Eva struck out her little finger. "I promise" She whispered.

The woman returned a silence, as she sat into the creaking bench. However, she held unto her child as tightly as she could. Eva sat right next to her, only a few inches between the both of them. "I'm Eva" She introduced.

"Occasionally harmless, like right now" She surrendered her arms in the air. "I just want to make a friend" There was that stoic accent in her voice and the woman looked to her. "Do you stick a gun to your friend's neck?" The woman was english, and if you didn't tell from her dressing, you will from the sound of her voice and the way she said the words.

"You're not a bad person." Eva said, her eyes fell to the pale face of the baby. "I think." "And you're such a good person" She replied. "I heard the shots before leaving the building" Eva looked around them. "I know it was you." Her face turned red.

"I know you killed a man"

Eva's index finger pressed into her lips. "Shh" She heaved. "He was a bad person. I am a good person for taking down the bad people" She added. "And you're a good person-because of the love you have for your child" Eva continued.

"That you'd be willing to lay down your life for her" She recalled her words from the elevator and the woman smirked, hefting up his shoal. "He's my rock" She corrected his pronoun and Eva pulled away, letting out a scoff.

"What's it like?" She asked. "Having a piece of you in your arms? What's it like having a child?" Curiosity arched her brows and the woman looked to her. "Only one's parent can answer that. It's an individual experience, unique to each other. For some it's a turmoil but for people like me" She paused.

"It's the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Eva cupped her chin, twirling around her fingers. "I don't really have anyone to ask" She muttered. "But he must be lucky to have you." Their eyes met again and this time, the woman's defense was loose and so were eyes. "I'm Mary" She replied.

"Just like our Savior's mother"

Eva joked and they shared a chuckle. "I'm not really a religious person" Mary rocked the child in her arms. "Me neither." She replied. "But i do believe there's someone out there."

"Someone that sent the man that saved me" Eva continued.

"Your father?" Came the obvious question and she shrugged her shoulders. "Zepestine is not my father. He's merely an angel." Their eyes locked for the nth time until Eva looked away. "I have no idea of my father" Her eyes struggled with emotion as Mary reached for her phone in her hollow pockets.

Eva continued staring in the distance, at nothing but a parked car next to the Renaissance art gallery. "Why did you kill that man of today?" That question pierced her thoughts and she turned around to Mary. Hesitatingly, she replied.

"Like i said, he was a bad person."

"What makes a bad person?" Mary whispered and even that thought seemed to leave Eva speechless.

-

"Berlin Santos"

"Our latest victim, murdered at his residence during a poker game. A bullet through his head" Matthew said, pacing next to Tobias. His hands trailed the red ropes that looped the evidences. "We scraped the scene for DNA but it came back empty. Nothing-" He paused.

"Nothing but a bright pink ribbon next to him" He tossed a photo of the scene across the table and Tobias picked it up. "What does this mean?" He was suddenly aggravated.

"I don't know."

"You think she's trying to tell us something" He added, slamming his hands against the table and Matthew felt a chill run up his spine. His rage was contagious, infiltrating the air between them and he heaved a deep breath. "I don't know" He whispered. "But it's all we have now. We're talking with several witnesses claiming the assassin was unmasked but we haven't heard any report from the state database"

Tobias hooked his neck, grasping him by the corner against the wall. "Then you come up with someone, seek another route" His eyes glinted as Matthew's feet scraped the floor.

"Berlin Santos was more than an Italian politician. He was apart of us. He was a part of this very pack, and you swore to protect us" Tobias ripped his police badge to the ground. "You swore to protect us, and we do the same for you" He added.

"And now my people are dying. Of what use are you then?"

Matthew was frantic, quivering to his very arms as his back arched against the wall. "I give you forty eight hours, if you haven't come up with any leads as to where i can find this woman, trust that i will murder you" He looked to his hands as he gasped for breath. "And i'll have your head parceled to your family back in Barcelona for an early Christmas gift" The Alpha spat, letting go of his neck and Mat fell to the ground.

"Is that understood?"

Tobias looked from above, adjusting his cufflinks before his door barged open. And in came Edgar with a bunch of files in his hands. "I'm afraid, there won't be any need for that"

Tobias turned to him, as Matthew breathed heavily, clutching his chest. His eyes was met by Edgar who took the remote, turning on the tv. "I'm saving your life" He croaked and then he faced the alpha. "There was a match in the database" The tv lit up with a drawing from the police and eventually, settling on what seemed to be a young woman's jail photo.

She had long brunette hair that fell over her shoulders, slender arms and a defined jawline. Her face was diamond and her eyes were almond shaped. She was careful not to smile too much Tobias could imagine her perfect teeth. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, there was another photo of her facing the left.

On which Edgar paused, pulling back out the grainy screenshot from the surveillance footage. "And it also matches this." His voice was calm. "Eva Daniels" He finally put a name to the woman they'd been on the hunt for and Tobias went silent-expecting more of a hardened criminal. But before him was a merely beautiful woman who piqued his interests.

Her looks deceiving, and her eyes coquettish. It was like a charm and he imagined how she'd taste between his lips, once he dug his razor fangs into her glistening neck.

"Bring her to me." He croaked.

-

The cars came to a halt around the bench, causing a traffic and Eva rose to her feet. The sirens were deadening and in a split second, she had a dozen guns pointed at her.

"Hands in the air" Matthew yelled, reflecting on her head the red pointer of a sniper and Eva reluctantly raised her hands.

"Get on your knees and turn around" She faced Mary who was accompanied to a police vehicle and her cellphone fell to the ground, a call put through to 911. Their eyes met for one last time before she heaved up her middle finger. Eva smirked, knowing more than she did that this won't be that last time they crossed paths. "I thought we were friends" She whispered.

"Eva Daniels, you are under arrest for the murder of one Berlin Santos. Anything you say can and will be use against you in the court of law. You are entitled to a lawyer and if you don't have one, a free attorney will be provided for you" She felt her wrists clasp in handcuffs before she was kicked up. A hand tugging against her hair, she was dragged to the car.

She was surprisingly calm, with a smirk across her lips. And once she entered Matthew's car. He was sure to turn around with his phone close to his lips. "Yes, we have her." He said to Tobias on the other end of the line. And he was sure to repeat the words he'd made clear earlier.

"Bring her to me."

To be continued...